Spirit World, Diary of an urban shaman

By Raym Richards

These 66 stories may be read as an urban fantasy novella or as an accurate depiction of the life of a twenty-first century urban shaman.

Stories include, Possessed, Demons within, Virgin sacrifice, Sex and death, Spirit guide, Alien abduction, Haunted, Templar knight, Cursed and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raym Richards
• Release date: May 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9780957793552

Raym Richards

Raym was born Raymond John Richards, in Merseyside, UK on July 26, 1953. He is a Crystal Master specialising in connecting people with their own higher guidance, the spiritual realm, bliss and beyond through drug-free expanded states of consciousness, using his advanced crystal healing technique Crystal Dreaming®.He will travel anywhere in the world to teach Crystal Dreaming®.He holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Fine Art and has enjoyed many years as a visual and performance artist. He has been happily married for almost 50 years and lives in the hinterland of Byron Bay, Northern NSW, Australia.Also By Raym "Spirit World. A diary of an Urban Shaman"This book contains 66 first hand accounts of life-changing connections with the Spirit World by ordinary people. With explanations and exercises Raym unlocks through these true stories and the hidden secrets of the Spirit World. He reveals deep insights into the healing power of his Crystal Dreaming® technique and awesome power for good, that can be accessed by each and every one of us, now.“Raym is a master story-teller, but more than that, his stories are factual, these things are experienced by real people. You will not only be entertained by this book, but you will read fascinating details of realms hidden from most of us. One day you may even be able to apply what you learn here in your own life.”Elizabeth Jewell Stephens, Editor, LivingNowAvailable as a hard copy from the publishers by mail order, visit www.global-​healing.comAlso by Raym “Alchemy of Crystals”The complete Crystal Dreaming® technique summarised in one volume, a practitioner’s handbook.“Alchemy of Crystals deals with aspects of Crystal Healing not covered in any other Crystal Healing book... an essential and comprehensive reference book for all healers, using any modality, not just Crystal DreamingTM.”White Light Magazine.“...a must for those committed to seeking personal and spiritual growth through Crystal Awareness”.Insight magazine .Available as a hard copy from the publishers by mail order, visit www.global-​healing.com.

Book preview

Introduction

My interactions with the Spirit World as a contemporary shaman are captured in these true life stories. These stories offer an accurate depiction of what can happen to every-day people during the safely expanded states of consciousness triggered by my Crystal Dreaming™ technique.

Crystal Dreaming™ creates a safe drug-free opening to the superconscious for anyone, enabling them to have a firsthand, often visceral experience, of other realities, times and places through their own fully conscious bi-location.

Take your time reading this book. I encourage you to take a break between stories and feel into their content and how they have affected you. After reading the whole book, revisit stories at random for a deeper understanding of their content.

Please explore Reflections of Spirit World at the end of the book for contemplation of the knowledge you have absorbed through reading this book.

This book gives an insight into the Spirit World, our enormous potential as  infinitely powerful sovereign beings of light, the inter-connectedness of all things and the power of unconditional love and forgiveness in self healing.

I encourage you to read it aloud, share it with your friends and pass it on when you have finished reading it.

It could offer invaluable help for a loved one.

Raym November 2017.

Prologue

I am holding a green glass ball in my hands and it is heavy. I feel what seems to be energy from the ball pulsing through my arms. I am beginning to sweat and my body shakes as I move the ball in front of my body. The ball in front of me starts to glow faintly. Everything in the room around me drops into soft focus and the chatter of my friends becomes a background hum. I feel apprehension, even a little fear. This should not be happening to me, I don’t believe in this New Age crystal nonsense.

It is 1994 and I am at the fulcrum of my life. I am at a friend’s dinner party and I have been handed a curio, an obsidian ball that looks like a fishing float but is much heaver.  In minutes, this Mount St Helen’s obsidian changes my life forever. I am not having a healing crisis -  in fact my life has never been on a more even keel. After a twenty-five year career as a performance artist which took me from the fringe to the mainstream, I am finally over the struggle of creating and into a still place with my art. There has been a lot of change in my life recently, all of it good. I have a blank canvas in front of me and I feel content, so now the Universe steps in and takes the opportunity to shake things up a bit.

A tunnel of light opens up before me in the ball. I glance at my friends expecting them to notice my face illuminated from the ball, but they chatter on laughing, oblivious to what is happening to my body. We are no longer experiencing the same reality.

As I gaze into the ball I am sucked into a vortex of light and I move into a beautiful space, indescribable in its peace and love. I burst into tears, knowing in the back of my mind that my friends are probably wondering what is happening to me. But I no longer care: I am in a state of absolute bliss.

Beings step forward from the light around me and embrace me with their infinite joy.

Dudes, I telepath. You have definitely got the wrong man. I don’t believe in this stuff.

I realise immediately that this is like saying I don’t believe in the sun. It just IS. And it is time for me to wake up to the truth of my own infinite being - w hich I do, in seconds.

In this precious moment, my journey of realisation as a complete being begins. The beings I am with gently remind me why I incarnated and I release my egotistical resistance to the truth of their guidance; they explain the workings of the Universe and we discuss my future.

When I return to the reality of my frien ds’ dinner party I can see the energy around each person in shimmering colours. I meet my wife’s concerned and loving eyes and smile. Noticing a line of soft pink energy connecting our hearts and I start crying again.

I see more than I could ever have imagined existing in this small physical space that contains us. Then I see beyond, through the walls, into All There Is and I am overwhelmed by its beauty.

In this moment I cease to be an artist and become so much more. I am no longer all I ever thought I was. I am nothing and everything. I feel everything and it is overwhelming. I am both terrified and ecstatic.

I see into my own future and grasp that it will take some time before I can share my experience with others. I see that in due course I will be able to help many people, but that seems irrelevant right now as my own profound initiation has begun and it is all-consuming.

I take a deep breath, smile reassuringly at my friends and step into my new life as a sh aman.

Possessed

The time is now.

I am in no time-space with my client and I am trying hard not to confront an already angry and abusive Earthbound spirit that has attached itself to her. Cursing me in Afrikaans he reaches through my protective energy shield and starts to throttle me. This should not be possible, but it seems to be happening and it really hurts.

I can feel his hands clamped around my throat. This is turning into the most visceral other worldly experience I have ever had. Choking, I telepath...

I am not a threat to you. What are you so angry about?

I am blasted by another outpouring of abuse. I need to stay cool, but I am beginning to feel light headed. I feel tapping on my shoulder, I look to my left but there is no one next to me. Now I am really confused, the other Earthbound spirits are still attached to my c lient, what is happening to me?

Then I get it, my assistant is trying to bring me back into the physical, so I quickly return to full consciousness. When I open my eyes I realise that my client, a tiny woman, has lifted up my muscular body and has me pinned against the wall. Her face is right next to mine, her eyes are wide open but her eyeballs are rolled back so I am staring straight into the whites of her eyes as she rants on at me in a deep male voice. 

Her mouth is flecked with foam and my assistant who is trying to prize her fingers off my throat has gone a lovely shade of white, a colour that matches perfectly her blouse and bleached and braided dreadlocks. 

If her grip is not released very soon I will pass out. As my vision becomes grey around the edges, I wonder how I got myself into this mess.

I live in the old part of the city, I like its character and the people there. As I cycle across town to Inner Journeys my crystal shop, I become an observer. I sense the vacant ones, people wearing grey suits with matching grey auras. I stop at traffic lights, they hurry past and I look into their eyes. They are like windows into abandoned warehouses, empty, dark and slowly crumbling inside. They look utterly lost and hopeless. It seems to me that there is no-one home - or worse, there is someone else there.

My crystal shop and session room sit in the borderline part of the city because the rent is reasonable. It’s the kind of place that starts out being inhabited by artists, musicians and students and ends up being taken over by architects, real estate agents and lawyers who then complain about the character of the place that they bought into. This part of town is the nexus for transformation, so for now, for me, it is a good place to be. 

There is community here, people look out for each other and there is an easy going atmosphere that comes from having not much money, not too many worries and plenty of time.

So it was that I started receiving calls from other alternative shops in the area, they all talked about the same person. A slightly built woman who needed my help. I knew it was only a matter of time until she showed up.

Sometimes in my business you need assistance. I have two apprentices, both mature and very groovy women. They are similar yet very different. Both have bleached blonde, braided dreads and dress like they are about to rock on to an all night rave after work. Secretly I call them Topsy and Mopsy.

Brianna, is your Earth Mother type, large and well built, she exudes nurturing feminine power. She is lesbian and proud of it and has trained in martial arts, as well as esoteric disciplines. Bryony is smaller and has a lighter build, she could be Brianna’s sister from another life. Her birdlike features give a hint of the sharp mind hiding under her dreads, like Brianna she has studied extensively with other teachers. She is an excellent Tarot reader and a natural trance channel.

Both women look many years younger than their age because they are so happy. They are enjoying their lives, so looking after their bodies comes naturally. These powerful women are my guardians, my front door filter, they run my crystal shop and keep the tyre kickers away from my session room. No time-w asters make it into my sacred space for a journey. Just the genuine spiritual seekers and those in need of help.

Today I am thankful that Brianna is my assistant. Sometimes things can get physical with this kind of case, and I prefer to have another woman in the room if my client is female.

I can feel my client coming towards the shop before she arrives. The energy around her is big and very prickly, although the woman who walks through the door appears to be the opposite. This tiny, thin woman tells me her story.

She has had a violent temper for as long as she can remember and lately it is getting worse. It seems the happier she becomes in her relationship the bigger this rage inside her gets, disrupting her life on a daily basis. She had been placed on an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) for biting off a chunk of her husband’s ear during a bout of uncontrollable rage. It is clear to me that I am probably dealing with a case of possession. As she is coherent and calm I decide to move straight into our session, her name is Mia.

My aim is to find out when she gave permission for the spirit to attach itself to her and work from there. Laying in a powerful mandala of crystals we both travel into the space between worlds, I telepath Mia the following affirmation: 

Body I command you, show me the moment this started.

Immediately we are standing in a country area by the side of a dusty dry road surrounded by lush, green vegetation. We notice a little girl in front of us playing on her bicycle, she seems happy and carefree. She is not concentrating, daydreaming as she navigates rocks and pebbles on the roadside. Mia confirms it is herself as a child and I suggest that she step into the child’s body. 

The child is near a corner, I feel the rumble of an approaching truck, but she does not notice it at all. The truck driver is speeding and as he swings out on the corner he almost loses control as his load shifts. His heavy vehicle is old and unroadworthy. I catch a glimpse of the panicked driver, dropping greasy food on his lap as he clutches his steering wheel with both hands. There is no way he will even notice the child.

He collects her with his front fender and knocks her under the nearside front wheel, fortunately it is only her legs that go under and because as he is turning only one wheel runs over her. The bike is destroyed and the frail little girl is left wailing at the side of the road as the truck driver continues on his journey in a cloud of dust and small stones, totally unaware of what has just happened.

How are you feeling? I telepath the girl.

I am in agony. Somebody stop this pain. Please someone. ANYONE!

We are at the point of attachment. The point when she gave permission for ANY being who wants to step in and help to do so.

She did not say or think; 

... will the beings who love me unconditionally please help me.  

I do not know many people who would have the presence of mind to do that, let alone a little girl with two broken legs, lying on the side of a deserted road in the bush.

Unknowingly she has issued an open ended invitation and in effect a contract for any beings, particularly confused dead people (Earthbound spirits) to come to her aid, and they do. But there is always a catch, they are looking for a place to stay, permanently.

I witness several energies come flying through the ethers and attach themselves to her, offering succour. They cringe to one side clinging on to her solar plexus for dear life as a large dark form approaches and attaches itself firmly to the back of her neck. I don’t know how, but it eases her pain, maybe it takes on some itself. Her pain lessens and her wailing changes to deep sobs as she waits for someone to find her.

I take her into no time-space and suggest she transmits the following thought-form:

I challenge any being that is under the illusion that it has power over me. Show yourself to me now, or forever hold your peace.

Of the dark forms surrounding Mia the largest comes forward. I have an overriding sensation of intense and explosive anger.

I am not yet able to make out its form but rather than arguing with Mia it is headed straight for me. As it materialises in front of me I perceive that it is male, human, muscular and dark skinned.

He talks to me in a language I do not understand.

Neuk af wit seun!  It sounds like Afrikaans.

Talk to me in English mate, I don’t understand you.

What the fuck do you want white boy? Why don’t you fuck off back to where you came from and mind your own bloody business? Even his thought forms have a strong accent.

He towers over me and he is a big bloke, he is strong and has a lot of will power. Suddenly he reaches through my protective auric field and starts to throttle me. I feel the tapping on my shoulder and remember that I asked my assistant to tap me if she feels I should return to my body for any reason.

I return to full consciousness as quickly as I can and realise that things are going pear shaped fast, this session turning into an all in wrestling match and I am about to pass out. I must stay calm and act...

Think, breathe. Think.

This petite woman with her white bulging eyes now has the strength of an ox. I manage to get my fingers under hers and create some breathing space as my assistant grapples with her. We must not hurt her. I am now speaking out loud talking directly to the African presently in possession of her body.

What happened to you, I want to know.

What do you care? You interfering bastard. A deep and thickly accented voice booms out of Mia’s tiny chest.

Maybe I can help.

Bullshit. You fuckers left me for dead, in this dark shitty place. The mine caves in and you just fuck off! You bastards just left me. And I died. FUCKERS! he shouts

I am already preparing excuses about a play rehearsal for my neighbours.

It sounds very weak but I say, I am sorry to hear that.

Fuck off! His grip tightens again but now fully conscious, I respond quickly.

"What year is it?

‘What?

In the mine, what year is it.

1951, who gives a shit?

I do, and I am doing some rapid mental calculation. If he was mature man in 1951 there is a good chance his wife is also now dead, if he had one. I sense a way of getting through to him, helping him. He is definitely not going to go for any flaky New Age fluff, that’s for sure.

Do you miss your wife?

He is poised on a knife edge between intense rage and deep grief. Fortunately for me, as my assistant is beginning to flag, he leans towards the latter. His pause tells me he loved this woman.

In this space between anger and grief I seize the moment.

Across time and space, I call on this man’s wife, I call on this man’s wife, I call on this man’s wife, please join us now.

I do not need a translator to understand what is happening as he releases his grip and breaks down, sobbing.

OK you can go with her, you can go home and find peace, go home to light now. Go in peace

One word of Afrikaans leaves Mia’s lips as he leaves her body and it completely relaxes.

Dankie...

I help the other attached spirits find peace and after cleansing and protection exercises Mia returns to her body and reclaims it. She tells me she grew up in South Africa, so it all makes sense. This dead African miner had become a confused and distressed Earthbound spirit. Refusing the opportunity to go home to light when his ancestors came for him he was stuck and looking for a safe and pleasant place to hang out when she called for help.

He had been with her since her childhood accident, affecting her moods and thoughts. He had become possessive, resenting her love for her husband. Now that he has left everything will change for my client.

We say goodbye and my shaken assistant ushers her out. I give thanks to my non-physical team, and think how silly I will look wearing a neckerchief in summer. For a few days my throat will be very red, I hope it won’t bruise.

Demon

I am in a dark and hot place and it does not feel pleasant, I know my body will have a thin film of perspiration all over it, particularly around the neck. The thing is, I have left my body a long way away, in a place we usually believe is our primary reality. Today things are different.

It takes me a few moments to acclimatise. It is stinking hot. I could be close to a bushfire or a furnace, the ground around me is rough and dry, a dusty, rocky, level surface. Next to me I can see my client. If I am feeling warm and apprehensive, she must be feeling hot and terrified.

In front of us is a huge dark form, hard to make out at first, but definitely not friendly, definitely not human and definitely not alone. Things are not looking good and we are just at the start of our journey together.

Hoping that she won’t collapse into utter, unmanageable fear and total vulnerability, I wait patiently for her to notice that I am standing right next to her. I hope she won’t start screaming, we have had enough complaints from the neighbours back on Earth, and my shop lease is up for renewal.

I am mindful that I should not control this situation too much. Although to some extent I am capable of manipulating the reality around us to suit my purposes. It is important that my client overcome the challenges before her of her own free will and without too much interference from me.

If I intercede too much I will get involved in her Karma. Not a good idea, as I have enough on my own plate right now, thank you very much.

I know my client is beginning to access levels of fear which are way beyond her experience or expectations. I am alert and ready for action, I have trained myself to deal with fear as a companion, one that makes me alert but does not control me.

My client notices me.

Fuck, I am shit scared she telepaths staring wide eyed at the apparitions surrounding her which she has suddenly seen clearly for the first time.

That’s three negative power words in one very powerful sentence. Couldn’t we just play safe, remove the negatives and stick with ‘I AM’?

Too late.

Feeding off her fear, the being in front of her has grown in stature and is materialising into a fully formed, red eyed, horned and salivating Demon of the aggressive variety of the first order. It reaches forward and grabs her solar plexus and starts squeezing and twisting it with its dark claws.

It is laughing at her.

This is all moving far too quickly for my liking, I need to create time to think.

I know back on Earth, right now my client is squirming and writhing in pain on the futon next to mine, I trust my assistant is doing as she promised and looking in on the session. For once I hope my little shop is not too busy.

Tell it how beautiful it is. I suggest

What? You are jo... her sentence is cut short as the being in front of her uses its other hand to claw deeply into her side. She starts moaning, I hope it’s not too loud.

I need to take control , Say after me, Beray sheet eyer esher eyer. Beray sheet eyer esher eyer.

She gasps the affirmation out loud and for one short moment the being in front of her hesitates, totally dumfounded.

In this moment I have a chance to collect my thoughts.

My client had been referred to me by a student, offering discounted practice sessions to gain experience, she was attracting people in need who were short of cash. The woman next to me had come to her in great physical pain. Pain which several doctors were unable to diagnose or treat with any success.

She was an initiate of an international religious group who did good work feeding the needy and offering them support. She had reached the rank of temple priestess and was respected in her community. She was authorised to create and lead ceremony and had become a high priestess. She was devout, chanting and praying from the early hours each morning, immersing herself totally in her practice.

Yet despite her good work and practices she was coming under massive psychic attack.

In her session with my student it became obvious that she was being attacked by powerful non-physical beings who meant to do her great harm. She was referred to me.

When she arrived for her session she was in so much pain she could barely walk, supported either side by two novice priestesses, her hands were cramping up like claws and her back and legs convulsing with muscle spasms.

She had come for a shamanic journey with me in which she might see exactly what was happening to her.

I had already prepared a clear and sacred space for the journey. I had travelled this route a thousand times before. As we lay down next to each other I looked over at her for the tell tale signs of deep trance. She closed her eyes and they rolled back, leaving only the whites of her eyes visible through her rapidly fluttering lids.

Deliberately opening a portal through which we could step into no-time-space and hence into all-time-space, I closed my eyes. We both slipped into an altered state of consciousness easily, allowing the mandala of crystals that surrounded us to do its work.

I joined her immediately, but the speed and ferocity of the attack took me unawares. We did not arrive where I expected and I was in danger of becoming fearful myself. I needed to buy time.

Ask it what it wants.

To destroy me.

Why?

Because I am weak, because it can, because it gives it pleasure...

When did you give it permission to be here?

What?

There is always permission, when?

I see myself carrying out ritual and ceremony, I am in training. My teacher is not being totally honest with me. I am making promises in a language I do not understand, this is the moment I gave permission.

OK, tell it not to be afraid of you.

Don’t be afrai...

The great beast’s laughter is deafening, it claws and wrenches at my client, and its smaller friends in the shadows move forward to join in. My client is in torment, and I know by now that the neighbours will be making a note to call my landlord. Again.

I reluctantly step forward, closer to my client. The violet white light that surrounds me buzzes and hums with a focussed life force; for now I am containing the energy into a bubble that surrounds my bod y for about a metre. It pushes the smaller demons back into the shadows, but not the big one. It still has tight hold of my client and will not be distracted by me, or my light.

Say again out loud, ‘Don’t be afraid I promise not to hurt you.’

I know my client is in agony and I will her to ride it out.

‘This pain is an illusion, it has no power over me.’  Say it.

She repeats the affirmation out loud and it is like a red rag to a bull. We both sense this beings thought-form s:

How dare you challenge me!

This being has probably not been challenged for eons, it is used to getting its own way. I am deliberately trying to cause it confusion. It is enraged but beneath that there is the tiniest twinge of doubt. This is our leverage, our way in.

It d irects its attention towards me.

I am ready, but I do